*Updated* Breakfast Plan

Breakfast time can be a disaster, mornings are rough, having a plan makes it a little easier, not easy, but a teeny bit easier.

I don't love the idea of something super rigid, but mornings here need just a little bit of structure.
 I plan to make the same things each week.  Our kids are getting old enough that a lot of mornings they can do it themselves, I am usually up before them though and like to do it! I'm not talking some crazy elaborate breakfast every morning. I am just picking the 5 or 6 things I know the kids like, are not going to kill our budget, will keep them full enough to make it to snack time and not full of sugar or junk. 

Mondays 

Kodiak Cakes and Fruit
We LOVE Kodiak Cakes!

Tuesdays 

Yogurt and stuff

We add stuff like nuts, granola, seeds, fruit

Wednesdays 

Oatmeal and fluff, fruit and all that. Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot are AMAZING. Definitely my favorite!

Thursdays 
Waffles and fruit
Usually with PB for some protein

Fridays 

Bacon or Sausage and Eggs with toast.
Especially now that our chickens are finally laying!

**I also have stuff for protein smoothies pretty much all of the time, for busy days or if we are low on something**

We keep our breakfast fluff, like granola, cinnamon sugar, oatmeal they can do themselves etc. all together and easy to get out and put away.  

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Mud Room {Real Life for 6}

The mudroom is our between spot, from the garage to the house and it is ABUSED!

Half the time the shoes end up there instead of put away in the garage, all the dirty kitchen towels and table cloths end up on the floor, I haven't organized the cleaning supplies at all. It's just been a hot mess. Used some of my free time to get some things settled this week. AGAIN.  It's still not working 100% for us, but for now, this is what we have!

Yeah, so bad before!

First things first. The laundry stuff, we keep things really basic here so they don't take up a lot of space. Just 2 shelves for soap, color catchers and the stain remover. Once I figure out how this other shelf fits in here?! 

Then Cleaning supplies.

The easiest way to keep these manageable is to limit the potions and sprays you bring home. The less you have the less you have to deal with. We really don't use much, some Bon Ami for toilets and sinks and then just vinegar/dawn combo. All of our cleaning supplies in this 1 basket!

After is a little better but still not exactly what we need, at least its clean and organized and has no clutter!

We have BIG plans for this room eventually. It's not a pretty room by any means, and it's set up so strange! The hot water heater in the closet?  But for now I just need it to work for the 3 kids we have leaving in a rush in the morning, and the 1 kid who loves to play in here! I can't wait to get started (not before baseball season is over) and make this room more usable for us.

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Easy Snacks for Busy Moms

I swear we are running out the door at snack time more often than not. While I would prefer a real snack, something homemade, that just isn't an option most of the time and we need snacks we can just grab and get going.

I've shared some of how we snack around here before here.

It's crazy to me, that it's been pinned over 10k times. Insanity!  I only do it to make my life easier.

We also did this for our road trip last year but I know I could still take advantage of it now on a smaller scale.

 Just going to throw some of our snack options out there too!

*Dried fruit        *Trail Mix          *Dried Fruit

*Nuts       *Fruit Leather        *Granola Bars

*apples   *Somersaults (addicting!!)

*bananas   *Yogurt Covered Peanuts/Raisins

*clementines  *Pretzels  *Chex Mix

*crackers  *Popcorn/KettleCorn

*Jerky   *SnapPea Crisps *Fruit Snacks (Target organics are our fave)

We also have a small snack bucket in the fridge!

Apple Sauce

Cheese Sticks

grapes
Yogurt tubes (These are our faves) 


What do your kids grab and go?

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I took my kids toys away {Week 18}

**First, I want to say I am not judging anyone for what they do or don't do for their kids. Just in case this strikes a nerve in the wrong way to someone.

I want to talk about STUFF! Specifically toys. We have been buying toys for over 10 years now and it's been an issue getting kids to pick up, keep tidy, care at all, for the last 7 years. At first I wouldn't say our kids were spoiled, I felt like spoiled can be taken as a mean label for a kid. I rationalized that they were privileged and lucky to have lots of folks in their lives that enjoy blessing them with a toy here and there. It rarely seemed like overdoing it, just something to make them smile. That's been going on for 10 years! It's about time I acknowledge our kids ARE SPOILED and it's all MY fault.
I should have done this a long time ago and it wouldn't have gotten out of hand or to this point.

old picture but we have the same issue, just didn't take another picture 
 

I think we have gone too far and it's overwhelming for them and insanely frustrating for me. I feel like everyday is a fight to get them to pick up after themselves. I got drastic this week and took 90% of the Lego's and put them in a bin for the garage. This was after I gave them 2 hours, plenty of direction, the ability to clean up, and they chose not to. I really think the mess was just too overwhelming. When I started putting the Lego's away there wasn't a single complaint, and I actually got some help.

Before the Lego's I had slowly been taking things away, just putting them in the garage, after I ask them to put them away and it's not done. Not a single thing has been missed! I haven't been loud about it, just picking it up and into a bin, not telling them. Barbies, clothes, random toys that all had a place they belong but weren't valued enough to be put away. They haven't asked about any of it!!

While we haven't been home as much because we have been at the ball fields every night, when we have been home the kids have been playing together better. Asking them to tidy isn't the instant meltdown it had become. I get a little nauseous thinking about the $$ that is sitting in the garage. I don't have plans to get rid of it right now. I just feel like we probably could have had some good family experiences rather than more stuff. Live and learn I guess. I really think we were doing a disservice to our kids. I am hoping that we can scale back and learn from it. I don't want them to expect toys and stuff, nor do I want them to feel like it's acceptable to not clean up after themselves.

Is this something that is a struggle at your house too? Finding a good balance with responsibility, appreciation and stuff? I feel like it will be a slow process to get there but we are on our way.

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Organizing Friday {Week 17}

I asked a couple weeks ago how long other people keep their clothes that don't fit right now. For me, it's after baby, none of my summer stuff really fits and I don't see them fitting in time to use them this summer. There was a whole variety of answers. I haven't decided what exactly I will do yet. Something has to give though.

Clearly I needed a good clothes purge! That is what I worked on today and have a bit more over the weekend. I have been reading all about this capsule wardrobe thing and read this great article.

Why I Got Rid of My Wardrobe

So inspiring!

 Right now I feel like not a whole lot of my clothes fit me just right (yay post baby body, not), there aren't many that I LOVE and overall it is kind of overwhelming because there are too many choices!

I didn't know if I could be that brave and limit it to 

15 tops

9 bottoms

9 pair of shoes

2 dresses

2 jackets

like the article suggested. That is SO SO much less than I have right now. I am going to try a little bit more or go that route but put some in storage rather than completely letting them go.

 I have a hard time balancing the wear it out thing vs. the capsule wardrobe thing. I know we do not have a budget for a new (even small) wardrobe every season.
Finding where my budget and lack of desire to shop meet will be interesting.
It was not fun deciding what could be packed away for now. But I think I will like having less to sort through and I don't feel like I let too much go that I will regret it. 

2 Sweatshirts
5 Cardi's
5 Long sleeve tops
9 t shirts/short sleeve tops
11 tank tops/summer tops
*Once we are officially in summer the long sleeve ones will get packed, or if I haven't worn them, donated.
 

 11 dresses
3 jackets
*no room to store the other 2 winter coats

 2 Pair of jeans
2 pair of capri
2 pair of shorts

1 skirt
 *also have a maxi skirt folded

I also kept a variety of basic colored cami's and tanks for under tops. Also, my clothes that are in the laundry, not much though. 3 sets of workout clothes.

I put most of the stuff in a couple of bins in the corner of the closet, but this is what is leaving. And there is evidence of "yes" day, little dude was helping me and playing on his tablet.

Do you do the capsule wardrobe thing? Have you considered a capsule wardrobe? If not, what is holding you back? 

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Seasonal Clothes Swapping

First I will say that I do not enjoy this task but thankfully it only has to be done 2 times a year.  Transitioning from tank tops and shorts at the end of summer and the packing away of long sleeves and heavy coats at the end of winter. By the end of the season I am so over seeing the same clothes on the kids anyway, I guess that part I do enjoy, along with having it done!

First things first, make sure you have enough time. Don't rush it, make it 2 separate times if you need to but don't try to rush through it all.

Prep your boxes or bins, baskets or whatever you are using to sort.

I have 6 bins I use.

~ Keep in drawers

~Keep for next year

~Hand Down

~Donate

~Sell

~Scrap

Keep in drawer is something that is going right back in.

Keep for next year, stuff that will likely still fit in 6 months and is in good shape

Hand Down, outgrown by this kiddo but in good shape for the next

Donate/Sell. Honestly, sometimes I never want to see something again and if it's not worth it to sell we will donate it or hand down to another family that can use it.

Scrap, there is only so much you can do with a shirt that was put over chubby thighs and stretched out. If it's cotton I will keep it to clean stuff up, or use it to stain wood.

Once the current stuff is sorted. More prep. Get the kiddo ready! I can't tell you how much this part of the project will determine how it ends. In smiles and probably some mama tears or tears of frustration from everyone! Bathroom, snack and then distractions put away just sets the stage for a smooth transition. We have a speedy try on everything questionable session. Sometimes it's hard to know if something is going to fit without trying it on. Sizes on labels can be very different from brand to brand.

TIPS
~If you are a momma of more than 1, do 1 child at a time. It's already daunting, don't make it harder on yourself with more stuff than you have to have out at once.
~Keep 1 top and 1 bottom from the sell or donate pile handy. Just in case there is a weird weather day. You don't want to have to dig through a bin for them in the mad rush before school or bed the night before.
~Get the stuff that is going out, OUT as soon as you can!
~Label your bins/boxes with a label you can see easily

I have found that the more often I do this, the more often I buy less the following year. Seeing stuff that was not worn much before it was outgrown is a sure sign that our kids have too much.

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Organizing Friday {Week 7}

I somehow skipped week 6, so I am adding it here too!

Finished organizing our homework cabinet last week

It's not perfect but for now, with the containers I have it's going to work.

I picked up the magazine boxes at IKEA, each kiddo has one. This is so much easier than trying to decide who didn't clean up what.  The bigger chicken wire basket is crayons, and we are using this milk jar to keep colored pencils in. I drastically reduced the amount of colored pencils and crayons we had. It seemed overwhelming to the kids to have soooo many to dig through for the one they were looking for. So for now, less is more and less is less for me to clean up.

Then it was under the sink! It ended up a little dirty and with little helpers, kind of a mess. 

Going to catch up on that this weekend since it's a quick one.

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Organizing Friday { Week 5 }

Our coat closet was a multipurpose area during the holidays. We kept everything in it, wrapping paper and gifts, coats and shoes. It was a bit much. You can see the mess here.

Spent a little time while the baby was asleep just taking everything out and not putting it back in. Most of it didn't belong in there anyway. My mother and father in law were getting rid of this shoe rack, it fit so we were happy to snag it!  Still have all my aprons and baby wearing stuff in there. They need to be easy to access.

This week I am going to focus on our Homework Cabinet. I don't really know what else to call it. It's in the dining room and has all kinds of stuff the kids use after school. Work books, crayons, pencils etc.  It's a mess, although I did do a little work before I took the picture.

 I have a couple friends that just have the best set up for their homework areas and art supply storage. I am going to see if I can find anything this weekend to inspire the kids to keep it tidy.

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Organizing Friday Week 3

This area takes the most abuse by our kids!

It wasn't too hard to fix up though.

First I went through all the shoes, again. We have lived here 2.5 months and already they have outgrown more shoes!

Then I just made them each a cute tag for their basket. Finnley sometimes has a hard time remembering which is his, or at least that is what he claims. No excuses now.

 

And yes that is the start of a wee basket for the baby. He will need a bigger one, but for now that little one we had on hand is storing his teeny little hats.

I was going to work on the laundry area next, but decided I should tackle the area we use a LOT, the entryway. Right now it is a disaster, a pile of stuff I need to take out to my car, and 4 drawers that have seen better days.

That rug is making me crazy! It slides all over, fixing that is on my list for sure!

We let each kiddo have a drawer, they can keep whatever they want in here as long as it's not liquid and won't spoil.

It's funny how different each one is. Ramsey has random change, his sports magazines, gum and iPod and a few random Legos. Carsyn has a drawer full of lip gloss, diaries and hair bows, right next to the grody flavored Harry potter jelly beans and tooth fairy $. Finn has more garbage and unsticky stickers than anything else! 

We don't make them tidy their drawer very often, as long as it closes they can keep it as messy as they want.

I will probably encourage a quick tidy of them though. 

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